Page 51 of Under A Sicilian Sky
Archie gave him a solemn look. ‘You really should.’
* * *
Ruby felt relieved at having made a positive step towards sorting out the mess of the hacking. She only wished she had done it sooner. She relaxed a little as some of the weight she had been carrying in her mind since the call with Valerie began to dissipate.
As they walked back around the corner to Mitch’s house, she linked her arm in his. ‘You’re turning into my regular knight in shining armour, Mr Adair.’
He glanced down at her and smiled. ‘Just trying to help.’ His cheeks coloured pink and Ruby thought how cute it was when he got embarrassed.
She stopped, still holding his arm. ‘Well, I appreciate it. I appreciate you,’ she told him with sincerity that she hoped he understood.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a split second later he lifted his chin and a wide smile spread across his face. Ruby turned to look at what had caused the reaction and spotted a couple walking towards them with a rather large, ginger-coloured dog.
‘Mitch? Bloody hell! How long has it been?’ The tall, handsome, auburn-haired man exclaimed as his dog wagged its tail frantically. ‘Morag said you were here.’
Mitch walked towards the couple; Ruby’s arm still linked with his. ‘Reid! Mate! It’s been too long.’ The men hugged while Ruby and the pretty, blonde woman smiled at each other awkwardly.
Ruby bent to fuss the dog and he seemed to enjoy the attention.
‘Mitch, this is my fiancée, Jules. Jules, this is my best mate from school, Mitch Adair.’
Mitch shook hands with Jules. ‘Good to meet you. Archie was telling me you guys had got engaged. Congratulations.’
‘Cheers, mate.’
‘How’s wee Evin?’ Mitch asked.
Reid grinned. ‘Ah not so wee any more. He’s twelve now. Great kid.’
Mitch nodded. ‘Grand, grand.’
Reid nodded, but then his smile disappeared. ‘Morag told us about you and Gen. I’m so sorry.’
Mitch shrugged. ‘Aye, it was rough for a while there, but it’s all good now. We’re still friends.’
Reid smiled. ‘That’s great. And who is your friend?’ he asked, holding his hand out to Ruby.
Ruby shook his hand and opened her mouth to speak, but Mitch beat her to it. ‘This is Roo, an old friend from uni.’
‘Aw, that’s great, lovely to meet you, Roo. Love the name,’ Reid said with a warm smile.
‘Good to meet you both,’ Ruby said as she moved on to shake Jules’ hand. ‘I’ve heard lots of lovely things about you. And I love your artwork.’
Reid blushed and chewed his lip. ‘That’s very kind. Thank you.’
‘Look, the two of you must come to dinner tomorrow night,’ Jules interjected. ‘You menfolk must have a ton of catching up to do.’
Again, Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but Mitch stepped in. ‘Oh, I don’t know, we’re quite busy the now and—’
‘Nonsense!’ Ruby said with a scowl at Mitch. ‘We’d love to come. What time is best?’
Jules beamed. ‘Great. Let’s say seven, shall we?’
Ruby nodded as she continued to scratch the dog behind his ear. ‘Perfect. And who’s this handsome chappy?’
Jules laughed. ‘This is Chewie, and you’ve a friend for life there now.’
‘Chewie! After Chewbacca! I love it.’ She crouched to get a better look at the huge dog. ‘I met your namesake, you know, yes, I did. Although, he wasn’t wearing his costume, so I suppose technically I met the actor who plays your namesake, but… anyway, you’re so gorgeous. Yes, you are.’
